A bit of education will reveal that Boston house painters may come up with different approaches to the exact same job.  Knowing what those approaches are will help determine your costs and allow you to intelligently evaluate a house painting estimate.

Exterior house painting can be accomplished in a variety of ways.  Some house painters will prefer to spray the paint on, and others will rely on brushes or rollers to paint the same walls.  Each technique has advantages and disadvantages.  Painting contractors using the spray method may be faster, but often create a mess if windows and trim are not protected from the spray. Rollers will give a fast job without the mess, but are best suited for painting stucco, concrete and brick.  Brushes are the slowest application, but experienced house painters will often rely on them for the best results, especially on shingle and houses with clapboard or other siding materials.  

Before calling a contractor for your first quote, be aware of the condition of the walls of your house. Is the paint peeling, bubbling or cracking?  Is there mold, mildew or moss growing on the walls?  A good painter will not paint over unstable surfaces. Preparation requirements like scraping off old paint, priming raw wood, and caulking imperfections, gaps and cracks will affect your estimate.  

For Interior house painting, the approaches are similar to exterior.  Faster jobs, especially in new construction and vacant properties where mess is not a big factor, could be spray-applied.  Finer interior work will be accomplished with rollers and brushes. In all cases, painting contractors should be protecting windows and furnishings from any contact with paint, so be sure to inquire how your contractor plans to do that.  Ruined carpets and windows with paint on the glass are things you should never have to deal with.

Your house painting estimate will also depend on your choice of paint.  This includes both the quality of the paint and the color.  Obviously, the best quality materials will cost more.  Decide in advance if you want a cut-rate job, or a first-class one.  Then be sure that quotes are for similar quality paints and the exact same colors.  

Painting contractors will know if the job will require one coat of paint, or multiple coats.  If you are trying to hold costs down, choose a paint color which is the same as the old color.  Painting white over white may involve only a single application, but painting a light color over a dark one may require three coats.  Since you will be paying for each coat of paint, be prepared for the cost.

Finally, with all this in mind, approach two or three Boston house painting contractors, and then compare the costs.  The estimates will give you a good idea of cost and value.

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Whether you want to present your home as stylistically cutting-edge or with a distinguished, antiquated grace, Jose’s Painting can help make it happen. With our interior painting and improvement services, you can turn any room from drab to fab.

Jose’s Painting exterior painting and improvement services are guaranteed to liven up your home with flavor, personality and beauty.

Repair or reinvent your home with our custom home services. The skilled professionals at Jose’s are ready to undertake any home improvement task you might have, so look no further than Jose’s Painting for any of your needs!

Interior Exterior Painting Painters Contractors Atlanta Alpharetta,Marietta, Roswell, Duluth, Lawrenceville, Dacula, Sandy, Springs, Dunwoody, Smyrna, Kennesaw, Acworth, Canton, Woodstock, Cumming, Suwanee, Norcross.

Painting, Contractor Your home need a fresh new look, repair, paint and remodeling? We offer drywall, texture, painting, services, Quality products, and more. JOSE’S PAINTING THE BEST COMPANY!

Jose’s Painting exterior painting and improvement services are guaranteed to liven up your home with flavor, personality and beauty.

Repair or reinvent your home with our custom home services. The skilled professionals at Jose’s are ready to undertake any home improvement task you might have, so look no further than Jose’s Painting for any of your needs!
Interior Exterior Painting Painters Contractors Atlanta Alpharetta,Marietta, Roswell, Duluth, Lawrenceville, Dacula, Sandy, Springs, Dunwoody, Smyrna, Kennesaw, Acworth, Canton, Woodstock, Cumming, Suwanee, Norcross.

Being a “Go-To” Painting Company: The Bull in a Bear Market

Much to my wife’s chagrin, I willingly and somewhat credulously engage with some of the more far-flung segments of popular culture—to wit, more often than not I fall asleep listening to a late-night radio host she charitably refers to as “Alien Man.” I won’t bore you with received conspiracy theories or musings from this or that gassy knoll, but I would like to use one of the outer limit’s more interesting fields of endeavor as a jumping point for this article.

Predictive linguistics is, in a nutshell, the belief that within the unknowable magnitude of collected human chatter we might dig out kernels of future events, most often along larger-scale trend lines such as shifts in political climate. The governing logic at work within this study holds that humans both intuit and shape future happenings through language; in other words and on a smaller, cruder scale: get a group of 30 farmers together and give them a few hours to kill in a room miked for sound and by the end of the day, you’ll probably have painted a decent picture of next year’s harvest through careful notation of repeated phrases and tonal patterns.

So, the chicken or the egg? To a predictive linguist, the answer is “both.”

On that note, we’ve all worn our eyes to the quick–and likely lost a few winks as business owners–reading about the economy these last few months. Whether or not the credit crunch leads to further fiscal deterioration, the language concentration centered around ‘downturn’ is unmistakable, and it’s smart business to bet that a relational turn towards ‘value’ will take on a gathering intensity as Wall Street makes its uneasy peace with Main Street.

Indeed, to the savvy business, this fog of uncertainty represents a very real, tangible opportunity for growth: how might a successful painting company watch its billable hours climb out of the ashes of recession?

By adding…value.

Keep in mind that most residential customers see their painting projects as component parts to the greater aim of ‘home improvement’ or ‘beautification,’ and slap a double nickel on that relationship during times of economic hardship. They’re hiring for quality, finish, aesthetic, to be sure; as fingers tighten around purse strings it’s unavoidable that they’re also hiring with an eye on a quantifiable improvement to their initial investment in the residence—in short, they are hiring to add value!

And as surely as your customers will be hiring to add value$, they’ll also be hiring to add valueZZZ…consider how much proverbial—and sometimes literal!–sleep you save your customer by doing all the little things well, by covering all of their bases where possible. Time is always money, remember, and the surest way to add value across the board is by becoming a ‘go-to’ business, increasing your customer’s bottom line by decreasing his bottom time:

‘Go-to’ businesses hire, train, and employ go-to guys: Encourage your painters to develop and build upon small home repair skills whenever possible. A ‘handy’ painter might well save a customer the trouble of finding and locating an electrician, joint man, plumber, etc.
‘Go-to’ businesses use their network of contacts to provide their customers with solutions: Let’s say that during the walkthrough, your customer mentions they plan on an addition to the west wing at some point over the next six months. A ‘go-to’ business checks its contact list for a general contractor in that area and is happy to save the customer extra legwork by making an introduction at the right time.
‘Go-to’ businesses take the extra step, every step of the way: your painters are onsite to beautify and fortify your customer’s home; to that end, why not ask that your painters bring in empty trashcans or recycling bins on trash day, take in the customer’s mail or the paper as a courtesy, dust a coffee table that needs dusting? A ‘go-to’ business treats its customers’ homes as its own, and it holds its painters to that highest standard, seven days a week.

As the old saying holds, the list might well go on, and on–these are but a few examples of ‘go-to’ business practice. But for the most potent distillation of ‘go-to’ philosophy, take a good, long look at the telephone: a ‘go-to’ business functioning at its highest capacity is constantly challenging itself to be that first call for every one of its customers–at every point of the decision-making process.

Are you a ‘go-to’ business? If not, why not?

Bleeding.
Bleeding usually occurs on exterior surfaces when a stain already on the surface bleeds through the new paint. Inside, too, problems can arise, as when children use crayons or permanent ink on walls. You may paint the area a dozen times, but the marks always bleed through. (Try spraying them with shellac first.)

Blistering.
Blistering occurs when you paint over a surface that is wet. For example, when you are painting outdoors over rotted wood or on a misty day, the moisture gets underneath the surface of the paint and lifts it up. Blistering usually occurs soon after painting. Be sure the surface is dry before you paint.

Chalking and Fading.
Chalking and fading may simply be the result of the aging process of the paint. If it’s excessive, however, it could indicate an underlying water problem. The subsurface could be wet. You will need to dig down into the subsurface to determine where the moisture is coming from and then put up a barrier.

Nail Popping.
This occurs most often on sheet rock where the nail pops up, causing a protrusion in the paint, although it can occur on any surface. It might simply be that the nail was never properly hammered down. However, if rust marks show through, there is moisture in the wood from which the nail protrudes. You will probably have to get into the wall to determine where the moisture is coming from and then resolve the problem.

Wrinkling.
Wrinkling is usually an outdoor problem caused by putting on too much paint or painting on a hot day. Wrinkling can also occur if the previous coat (or primer) was not completely dry. Whatever the cause, you will need to strip the paint off and start over-a good reason to be extra careful!

Paint will get on you no matter how careful you try to be. Rub on a lotion or petroleum jelly before you start. It will help keep the paint from sticking and make cleanup easier.

Practise spraying on a large piece of flat panel until you have a flat fan of spray, which will coat an area 35-45cm (15-18in.) wide with the gun held 20-30cm (8-12in.) from the surface at 90° to it. It is easier to spray a vertical surface than a horizontal one. Wait a minute to see the effect on your test surface, because lacquer takes some time to run if it is going to. Thin it 10 per cent and get the right consistency by timing it through a viscosity cup. The liquid should flow in a continuous stream off the end of a stick held at 45°.

Spraying techniques are illustrated opposite. Never trigger or stop the gun while it is pointing at the surface. Start the spray, and stop it, off the panel at the beginning and end of your strokes. Do internal corners in one smooth movement; external corners should have one stroke each side and one at a 45° angle.

Pre-catalysed lacquers can be de-nibbed with 600 grit wet and dry paper and water, wiped and tack-ragged after 45-60 minutes, and are then ready for recoating. Acid-catalysed lacquers take longer, about three hours on average. Final coats should be steel wool and waxed, or rubbed with burnishing cream.

Damp in the air causes a milky bloom as the lacquer dries. Burnish it with abrasive cream or paste, or if that does not work strip and refinish. Spray will pick up moisture in a cold damp atmosphere and take it to the surface, where it mixes with the lacquer, causing pits and craters in the finish, with the same white bloom. The air must be dry and warm, but if it is too hot it will dry the lacquer too quickly.

Always clean the gun as if it was a surgical instrument. Dismantle it, soak all the parts in thinners and blow thinners through the gun until there is not a trace of lacquer in the spray.

Finally, take elaborate safety precautions. Fine spray vapours are highly volatile, and extremely unpleasant to inhale; always wear a face mask, have a good extraction system, or do the work outside. Just having the windows open is not nearly enough.

Successful spraying requires a fair degree of skill and knowledge both about the paint you’re applying and the paint spraying equipment itself.

Types of spray gun

There are two main types of spray gun: with separate compressors or airless.

Spray guns with separate compressors

These are the conventional design of spray gun. Originally, they had large compressors plus a bulky ‘receiver’ to balance out fluctuations in pressure. This type of equipment can still be bought (or hired), but the amateur is more likely to be interested in one of the range of smaller guns with separate compressors. The compressor, which is electrically powered, provides a supply of air under pressure to the gun which has a container for the paint. Some of the air passes into the paint container to pressurise the paint; the remainder comes out through the nozzle as a fine stream. When the gun’s trigger is pulled back, a needle valve at the back of the nozzle is opened and the paint passes up from the container past the needle and into the air flow. The paint mixes with the air flow to provide a fine spray from the nozzle. The amount of paint that flows can be controlled by the trigger the further that the trigger is pulled back, the more paint that flows – though in practice the amount is limited by the power of the compressor.

Airless spray guns

These have all their working parts within the gun unit and have no separate compressor. The paint is forced directly out of the gun by a piston which vibrates backwards and forwards, being driven by an electric armature. It requires a considerable pressure to force the paint out of the nozzle and the amount of paint can be varied by adjusting a knob which alters the length of the piston stroke, though this is generally a fiddly operation. Obtaining a very line spray on an airless gun is difficult since the paint has to be pressurised to a certain level to gel any spray at all.

Airless guns are more compact and cheaper than separate compressor guns, but they do have disadvantages:

- the vibration of the piston can make it noisy and uncomfortable to hold

- an airless gun can ‘splutter’ paint when the level in the container is low. This should ruin a nearly completed job and it is not particularly easy to sec when the paint containers are getting empty. (When spray guns with separate compressors gel empty, they simply produce I spray with less and less paint)

- because the paint can come out of a gun at extremely high pressure, there is a danger of ‘injecting’ the skin with paint if you put a finger too close to the nozzle. This is a serious injury as the paint can spread out under the skin. It is difficult to treat, but requires immediate medical treatment it is important to explain to the person who is treating you exactly what has happened. Most high-pressure airless guns have safety cages round the nozzle to prevent this happening.

For bodywork repairs on cars, small aerosol spray paint cans are available. These are used in much the same way as spray guns. Both primers and topcoats are available – it is important to know exactly what colour shade your car is. Although convenient to use, aerosol sprays are an expensive way of covering anything other than small areas.

Aerosols providing polyurethane varnish and gloss paint (plus primers) are also available good for wicker furniture and louvre doors.

Wash the walls before you start. Don’t just turn up with your paint bucket and brush. Clean the walls with sugar soap before you start unleashing paint everywhere.

Inspect the walls. Check the condition of the walls before you begin. Take a careful note of any dents or cracks. These can be repaired with filler from your hardware store.

Keep the airflow moving. Make sure you paint in a room that has good ventilation. Some paints may contain a number of toxic chemicals which can cause allergic reactions or headaches as a result of prolonged exposure. Due to this, paint manufacturers are now making a considerable effort to reduce these volatile organic compounds in their products.

Label your leftovers. Generally you will always end up with some spare paint at the end of the job. Label this carefully with both the color and the room it was used in. This can be a godsend down the track if repainting is required and you need to color match your previous work.

Never throw away unused paint. In the UK alone, it is estimated that around 56 million litres of paint were thrown away or left unused last year. If the paint is still usable, think about donating it to a local community group or charity. There are many people less fortunate who may have a great use for the paint that you no longer need.